Twenty-four Filipinos who were allegedly involved in criminal activities in the United States were deported as part of US President Donald Trump’s vow to deport illegal immigrants, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said.

“We have monitored around something like 24 Filipinos who were deported, not because they were linked to very serious crimes, but they were involved in some criminal activity,” Romualdez said in an interview with dzBB.

He added that some Filipinos who were undocumented have decided to return to the Philippines.

During his first day in the White House on Monday, Trump signed several executive orders relating to immigration, including enhancing the operations of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in sensitive areas like schools and churches, as well as expanding expedited deportations for illegal immigrants.

In a forum on Saturday, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega advised Filipinos who were undocumented and overstaying in the US to work towards legalizing their stay.

De Vega said that Trump could discuss with Democrats about dealing with illegal aliens who are “not criminals and terrorists”.

“That means they will make legal means to encourage these productive overstaying aliens to be totally legalized ” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS